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Your Child’s Curiosity Is Actually A Good Thing

This is probably the most asked question children ask their parents. Anything from "why is the sky blue?" to "why did the man in the park decide to sit under that tree?"

A child’s curiosity can be the most beautiful, but at the same time it can be the most frustrating thing. However, in the midst of your mild irritation, your child’s curiosity is actually very good.

Curiosity Leads To Better Marks

According to a study published in Pediatric Research, the more curious your child is, the more likely he or she may be to perform better in school – regardless of their economic background.

Researchers at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and the Centre for Human Growth and Development analysed data from 6,200 kindergartners. They measured curiosity based on a behavioural questionnaire from parents and assessed reading and math achievement among kindergartners.

They found that children with lower socio-economic status generally achieve far less than their peers. However, children who were characterised as curious performed similarly on math and reading assessments as children from higher income families.

Nurture Curiosity From A Young Age

Prachi Shah, M.D., lead researcher and developmental and behavioural pediatrician at Mott, says promoting curiosity in children, especially those from environments of economic disadvantage, may be an important, under recognised way to address the achievement gap.

“Our results suggest that while higher curiosity is associated with higher academic achievement in all children, the association of curiosity with academic achievement is greater in children with low socio-economic status,” she says.

“To nurture your children’s curiosity, the quality of the early environment matters.”

Shah says that children who grow up in financially secure conditions tend to have better access to resources to encourage reading and achievement in math. Those from poorer communities are more likely to be realised in less stimulating environments, where the drive for academic achievement is related to a child’s motivation to learn, or curiosity.

But that doesn't mean you have to break the bank to let your child join every club possible just to boost their curiosity.

You can do simple things at home like walking in the garden and to stop at plants, look at the insects and listen to your child's questions. Try to give them your best answer.

If you don't know the answer, show your child how to look it up online or being old-school by using an encyclopedia. Encourage your child to read (books and online) and ask them questions about the characters, the pictures and what their favourite part of it was.

“Promoting curiosity is a foundation for early learning that we should be emphasizing more when we look at academic achievement,” Shah says.

How do you nurture your child's curiosity? Tell us in the comments below.